Last weekend I found myself with pal Goldy Loxx/Anna in Soho, looking for something to put in our mouths. That sounds weird. BUT IT WAS TRUE. We weren’t sure what we fancied and I had walked past HipChips several times in the past and assumed it would be long gone as a pop up but here it was, still serving. So we went in.

We decided to share a box as out of principal I refuse to pay a fiver for crisps, so we split a medium box, including 3 dips, for £6.75.  You can pick either savoury or sweet dips (no mixing which is strange as they’re served in separate tubs) and we went for the savoury options of Smoky Cheese Fondue, Katsu and Moroccan Yoghurt.

Now, as I said, I wasn’t sure about spending that amount of money on crisps, even if they are made out of a few different types of potato, but I was pleased to see you did actually get a good amount in a portion and they were made up of various types of potato making the box look interesting and a bit more colourful. The potatoes are seasonal so what they offer varies at different times of the year but the whole range is below (descriptions from the HipChips website):

• HIGHLAND BURGUNDY, 1936 – It’s red. Really red. Named after the Duke of Burgundy, who enjoyed it at the Savoy Hotel.
• RED EMMALIE – Long, fluffy and purple. But don’t let that put you off.
• SALAD BLUE, 1900 – You know what’s better than salad? Crisps. But back before fryers, the Victorians bred this novelty variety.
• VIOLETTA – Has a delicate, sweet flavour at odds with its dark purple, nearly black colour. A complex carbohydrate indeed.
• PINK FUR APPLE, 1850 – What’s pink, white and famously knobbly? This potato, first brought over from France.
• SHETLAND BLACK, 1923 – Oval with a distinctive dark purple colour. Show it some love – it’s officially registered as a ‘Forgotten Food’.
• RED DUKE OF YORK, 1942 – The deep red skin of this potato gets fantastically crispy during cooking.

I’m unsure which of the above we had, aside from the colour where some were purple,  I don’t think I could taste much difference. A lot of our chips were quite soft, or soggy, which made eating them pretty weird.  Maybe some of the sogginess is down to the potato type? Or perhaps a batch was over oiled? I’m not sure but I would definitely have preferred these to be crispy.

Crisps are a nice idea and they look nicely cooked but in reality a lot of them were soggy or soft which is pretty weird to eat really. The crisps on their own were also really salty which I guess makes the sauce very necessary but it would be nice to eat some crispy crisps on their own.

Our 3 Sauces

Smoky Cheese Fondue ‘Perfectly balanced with pickled red onion’ – This was our fave though we discovered secret red onion in the bottom right at the end, and after we mixed them in the sauce had a much waterier consistency. Still though it’s a strong sauce and I’d recommend this one.

Katsu ‘A light and creamy curry sauce’ – A thick one and quite on and off spicy.  It’s pleasant but sometimes the spice catches you out  which is a bit of a surprise! I do like this one which is a revelation as I’m not really fussed by katsu curry as a dish.

Moroccan Yoghurt ‘Made with tagine spices, preserved lemon and honey’ – minty and spicy, fresh. Probably the least dipped of the three we picked but it is nice enough.

Verdict

HipChips is probably what I had expected, really. I did enjoy the sauces and the flavours were fab but really it’d be better to buy a bag of kettle chips for a quid and be able to buy the sauces separately.  The texture of the crisps let the team down here with the overly saltiness and soggy texture. I wouldn’t come here again unless there was a special offer on (to try the sweet version, or more sauces) but that’s just me. Crisps is crisps. ..

Forked by Stefpuff

www.hipchips.com

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